What's New

Update 24B

Revision History

This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:

The table includes a chronological listing of document changes.

Overview

HCM Cloud applications have two types of patches you can receive that are documented in this What’s New:

• Release Updates (24A, 24B, 24C, and 24D)
• Optional Monthly Maintenance Packs to each update

It is important for you to know what Release Update your environment is on. You can find this in your Cloud Portal.

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HAVE AN IDEA?

We’re here and we’re listening. If you have a suggestion on how to make our products better, please let us know. To enter an idea go to the Ideas Lab on Oracle Customer Connect. In this document wherever you see the light bulb icon after the feature name it means we delivered one of your ideas.

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Suggested Reading for all HCM Products:

• HCM Common What's New - In this What's New you will find feature that are used across applications.
• Human Resources What’s New – In the Global Human Resources section you will find features on the base application in which other application are built upon.

NOTE: Not all Global Human Resource features are available for Talent and Compensation products.

• Oracle Human Capital Management Cloud Functional Known Issues and Maintenance Packs (Document ID 1554838.1).  These documents identify bug fixes and possible known issues. You will also need to review these documents based in the release update version you are currently on or will be moving to.
• Oracle Help Center – Here you will find guides, videos and searchable help.
• Release Readiness – New Feature Summary, What’s New, Feature Listing Spreadsheet, Spotlights and Release Training.

GIVE US FEEDBACK

We welcome your comments and suggestions to improve the content. Please send us your feedback at oracle_fusion_applications_help_ww_grp@oracle.com.  Indicate you are inquiring or providing feedback regarding the HCM Cloud What’s New in the body or title of the email.

Feature Summary

Absence Management

Transactional Business Intelligence for Absence Management

Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence is a real time, self-service reporting solution offered to all Oracle Cloud application users to create ad hoc reports and analyze them for daily decision-making.  Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence provides human resources managers and specialists, business executives, and line managers the critical workforce information to analyze workforce costs, staffing, compensation, performance management, talent management, succession planning, and employee benefits.

Don’t want to start from scratch building a report or analytics? Check out the library of sample reports for all products on Customer Connect on the Report Sharing Center.

Additional Attributes in Absence Subject Area

Improve your reporting on worker absences with the addition of columns that helps reporting on details related to generic and illness type absences.

Assignment Absence Details dimension in Workforce Management - Absence Real Time is enhanced to include the following attributes

• Estimated End Date
• Open Ended Flag

New attributes to report on generic and illness absences

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Absence Management

Oracle Absence Management is a configurable and flexible global solution that enables organizations to manage absences of their workforce. The framework provides ability to define both complex and diverse absence plans. It integrates with the Oracle Cloud Global Payroll and Time and Labor products and provides dedicated work areas for the roles of Administrator and Employees. Simplified user interface is provided for employees’ absence data entry.

Balance Transfer to New Plan in Same Category After Global Transfer

During a global transfer, you can now configure the absence plans to allow balance transfer to a target plan as long as both the source and target plans belong to the same plan category. As part of the enhancements, there are new configuration options in the Balance Disposition Rules section under the Participation tab of the absence plan setup page. There is a new subsection called On Transfer to New Legal Employer.

Balance Disposition Rules section on the absence plan setup page

You can allow balance transfer to a plan belonging to the same category using the Transfer Balance To field. Additionally, you can also configure what happens to the carryover balance during the transfer. When you select the option to transfer balance to the same plan or plan category, a new check box called Retain Carryover Balance becomes editable. When it's checked, the carryover balance is tracked separately in the new plan, and is subject to expiration rules.  When it's unchecked, the entire balance in the source plan becomes the initial balance in the target plan, and isn't subject to carryover expiration.

Transfer Balance To field and Retain Carryover Balance check box

Transfer balance from the source plan to a new target plan in the same category after global transfer transaction using new configuration options.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Rollover Support After Loss of Eligibility and Global Transfer

During a local or global transfer, there can be absence balances left in the source plan when the ceiling limit of the target plan is reached. With the new enhancement, you can configure the absence plan to allow the balances left in the source plan to be rolled over into another plan. This way the employee retains all their leaves.

You can define the rollover rules by selecting the Rollover positive balance check box under the Balance Disposition Rules section. That check box enables the Rollover Rules section.

Rollover Rules options

You can configure the rollover rules to either allow unlimited balance or limit the balance amount using a flat amount or a formula.

Get greater control over absence plans where you can now configure rollover rules to another plan after loss of eligibility or global transaction.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Ability to Specify Which Shift in a Half Day Absence Won't be Worked in

When taking a half day absence, you can now specify which half of the shift you won't work. When you select the duration as half day during absence entry, the application now displays a new option where you can select the first half or the second half. This applies to both the basic and advanced absence entry mode. Similarly, this applies to employees with time or elapsed based schedule where the UOM of the absence type is days or calendar days.

Half day options

Specify which half of the shift you want to take the time off for in a half day absence using the Redwood absence entry page.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Tips And Considerations

You can enable this feature in Redwood only through Extensibility.

Redwood Add Absence UI Support for Additional Features

The Redwood absence entry page has been further enhanced to now support the following features:

• You can associate an absence to a leave agreement.
• The consumed entitlements are displayed after the absence transaction is saved.
• You can now use the repeat option to schedule a multiple day absence.

Absence entry Redwood page

The Redwood absence entry page has been further enhanced to support repeating absences, leave agreements, and display consumed entitlements.

Steps to Enable

If you want to enable this page, you will need to do so in the Profile Options. Here are the steps for changing the delivered Profile Options:

1. Navigate to the Setup and Maintenance work area.
2. Search for and click the Manage Administrator Profile Values task.
3. Search for and select the ORA_ANC_ADD_ABSENCE_VBCS_UI_ENABLED profile option.
4. In the Level list, select Site.
5. Enter Y in the Profile Value field.
6. Click Save and Close.

Enhanced Absence Type Default Logic

You can now configure the absence type to choose how the default absence type is displayed during absence entry and absence bid entry pages. There is now a new option called Absence Type Default in the Additional Attributes section of the Configure Absence Batch Parameters page.

You can select from four different options which are as follow:

Absence Type Default option

Configure absence type to choose how the default absence type is displayed during absence entry.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Tips And Considerations

The display order feature works only in VBCS pages and not in Responsive pages.

Time Card Validation to Honor Compensatory Time Ceiling Limits

A new validation has been introduced to ensure that the ceiling limits defined on the compensatory plan are honored when a time card includes a compensatory time earned entry. If the earned time exceeds the ceiling limit, the application throws an error. In such cases, the person must either remove the time card entry or reduced the amount of earned time.

When an employee submits a time card that includes compensatory time, the application will check whether the earned time card amount exceeds the plan ceiling limit or not. It also checks whether the earned time card amount post the approval exceeds the ceiling limit. The application also takes any compensatory time expiration and deleted compensatory absences into consideration during the balance check. If the ceiling limit isn’t exceeded, the time card is successfully submitted. If the ceiling limit is exceeded, then an error is thrown.

A new validation now ensures that the ceiling limits defined on the compensatory plan are honored when a time card includes a compensatory time earned entry.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Atom Feed and Event Support for Absence Cases

You can now use Atom Feeds to track changes to absence cases. Administrators with the HRC_ATOM_WORKSPACE_ACCESS_EVENTS_PRIV privilege can generate the Atom feed when an absence case is created, deleted, or an existing one updated.

Track changes to absence cases using Atom feeds.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Improved Support of Calculate Accruals and Balances ESS Jobs Running in Parallel

Previously, when multiple absence processes were run in parallel and they picked the same employee for processing, the application generated an error and the accrual entries for that employee were missing for some periods. The new enhancement ensures that if two ESS jobs pick the same employee, one of them skips the person so that there is no accrual run at the same time.

You can now run multiple ESS jobs simultaneously without the application throwing errors.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Redwood Experience for Absences Cases

The Absence Cases page was re-created using the Redwood tool set available in Oracle Visual Builder Studio to improve the user experience by providing the same consistent functionality across Redwood pages. Managers can view, create, and edit absence cases in the newly redesigned Redwood page.

Here’s how you use the Redwood page for Absence Cases:

1. On the Home page, click My Team.
2. Click Show More.
3. Click Absence Cases from the Absences section.

Absence Cases Redwood page

The new Absence Cases page lets you experience Redwood’s high-fidelity interactions.

Steps to Enable

If you want to enable this page, you will need to do so in the profile options. Here are the steps for changing the delivered profile options:

1. Navigate to the Setup and Maintenance work area.
2. Search for and click the Manage Administrator Profile Values task.
3. Search for and select the ORA_ANC_CASES_VBCS_UI_ENABLED profile option.
4. In the Level list, select Site.
5. Enter Y in the Profile Value field.
6. Click Save and Close.

Key Resources

Also see HCM Redwood Pages with Profile Options (Document ID 2922407.1) on My Oracle Support.

Update Compensatory Time Balances on Time Card Submission or Approval

You now have the option to update the compensatory plan balance upon either time card approval or on  time card submission. You can do this using the Update Compensatory Plan Balance option in the Configure Absence Batch Parameters page. Based on the configuration, all compensatory time earned on a time card will be reflected in the absence balance when the time card is either submitted or approved.

Update Compensatory Plan Balance option

If you configure the application to update the compensatory plan balance upon submission, then an employee can earn compensatory time and use that compensatory time off on the same time card without approval.

Compensatory time plan balance can be updated on time card approval or time card submission based on the configuration setting defined in Absence Batch Parameters.

Steps to Enable

To use this feature, you need to enable the new integration between Time and Labor and Absence Management. Here's how you do it:

First you need to create the ANC_TM_NEW_INTG_ENABLE lookup type, as shown here:

Then you need to migrate your existing absence data to the new data model.

NOTE: After the migration process runs in your production environment, you can't revert the absence data to the old data model.  It's vitally important that you test the upgrade in your preproduction environments before running the upgrade on your production environment.

Here's how you do it:

1. In the Setup and Maintenance work area, on the Tasks panel, click Search.

2. On the Search page, search for and click Feature Upgrades.

3. On the Process Flow page, click Schedule.

4. On the Schedule page, click Run Feature Upgrade.

5. On the Schedule: Run Feature Upgrade page, complete the fields as shown here:

   Field	Value
   Process Flow	Enter a name, such as Migrate absence data to new data model.
   Feature	Upgrade Time Repository for Absences
   Process Configuration Group	Select a group to control error logging and multi-threading of the process
   Additional Information	Enter the migration cut-off date in the dd/mm/yyyy format. This date is used by the migration process to decide which existing absences to upgrade to the new architecture. All absences on time cards that exist from 31 days before the date that you enter are considered for upgrade.

6. Click Submit. The processes that run are:

• Calculate Eligible Objects for Upgrade: This process calculates all of the eligible employee records that the Upgrade Eligible Objects process will upgrade.
• Upgrade Eligible Objects: This process does the actual data upgrade task.

Ability to View Absence Plan Balances When Entering a Time Card

You can now see your absence plan balances while entering a time card instead of having to navigate to Absence Management to check the same. Through extensibility, you can display the plan balances from the Absence Balance Redwood page on the side panel of the time card VB page.

Based on the configuration, you can view your balances on the time card by clicking More Actions button and selecting Absence Plan Balances option. The absence plan balances panel will display your balance as of today as well as of last calculation date.

Absence Plan Balances option on the time card.

Absence balances on a time card.

See absence plan balances while entering a time card instead of navigating to Absence Management to check the same.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Tips And Considerations

You can personalize this page using constants and business rules. For more information refer to the Extending HCM Redwood Applications Using Visual Builder Studio guide.

Export to Excel Supported on Manage Absences and Entitlements Page

You can now export absence information to excel spreadsheets on the Manage Absences and Entitlements page. You can export the details of the following to excel:

• Existing Absences
• Accrual Plan Balance Details

The Export to excel icon is added to the Existing Absences section in the Manage Absences and Entitlements page. To export the accrual plan balance details, select an accrual plan from the Plan Balances section and click the Details tab.

Export absences information from Manage Absences and Entitlements page to excel spreadsheets.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Identify the Last Job Request ID that Updated a Transaction

When you run multiple absence processes such as Update Accrual Plan Enrollments or Calculate Accruals and Balances in quick succession or simultaneously, there may be errors. Now you can easily identify the process that last updated or deleted the tables using the new ESS_Job_Request_ID column has been added to the following tables:

• ANC_PER_PLAN_Enrollment
• ANC_PER_Accrual_Entries
• ANC_PER_ACRL_Entry_DTLS

This new attribute is updated each time the Calculate Accruals and Balances process and the Update Accrual Plan Enrollment process are run.

Troubleshooting errors is easier now by identifying the last process that updated a transaction.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Associate a Compensatory Plan and a Qualification Plan to the Same Absence Type

You can now associate compensatory plans with absence types having pattern "Childbirth or placement" and "Illness and Injury", which was previously not allowed. Similarly, you can also associate compensatory plans with qualification plans in the same absence type.

The compensation plan works sequentially as well as concurrently when combined with a qualification plan. And so to facilitate that, the check box called Enable Concurrent Entitlement has been added under the Plan Attributes tab on the compensatory plan setup page.

Enable concurrent entitlement check box

To associate compensatory plans, qualification plans, and accrual plans to the same absence type, you need to update an existing absence type. To do this, click Select and Add, and select the plans you want to associate in the Plans and Reasons tab on the absence type setup page.

You can now associate compensatory plans, accrual plans, and qualification plans to the same absence type.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

New OTBI Attributes for Open Ended Absences

You can now get better reporting of open ended absences with new additions to the absences subject area. Now the open ended flag and the estimated end date attribute have been added to the absences subject area.

For better reporting of open ended absences, the open ended flag and estimated end date attribute have been added to the absence subject area.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Absence Planning Dashboard Support for Extensibility

Administrators can now use extensibility to personalize their experience for the Absence Planning page.

Enrich your Redwood experience with the Absence Planning page which now has customer extensibility enabled.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

You can personalize this page using constants and business rules. For more information refer to the Extending HCM Redwood Applications Using Visual Builder Studio guide.

Audit Changes to Work Schedule Assignments

You can now allow customers to enable auditing for the following two database tables:

• per_schedule_assignments
• per_schedule_exceptions

With audit enabled it becomes easier to identify how erroneous data was entered and also allows you to better meet audit requirements.

Meet audit requirements better by identifying how erroneous data is entered.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

IMPORTANT Actions and Considerations for Absences

REPLACED OR REMOVED FEATURES

From time to time, Oracle replaces existing Cloud service features with new features or removes existing features. When a feature is replaced the older version may be removed immediately or at a future time. As a best practice, you should use the newer version of a replaced feature as soon as the newer version is available.

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KNOWN ISSUES / MAINTENANCE PACK SPREADSHEETS

Oracle publishes a Known Issues document for every Update to make customers are aware of potential problems they could run into and the document provides workarounds if they are available.

Oracle also publishes Maintenance Pack and Statutory Maintenance Pack documentation of bugs that are fixed in the monthly or statutory patching.

To review these documents you must have access to My Oracle Support:

Oracle Human Capital Management Cloud Functional Known Issues and Maintenance Packs (Document ID 1554838.1)